First Round Playoff Matchup Against Southeastern Louisana Up Next For Illinois State

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 29, 2025
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Site: Hammond, Louisiana
Stadium: Strawberry Stadium
Capacity: 7,408
Series: Southeastern Louisiana leads 1-0
Last: SLU won 28-21 (Sept. 27, 1980)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+ 
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Illinois State is back in the playoff for the second-straight season and for the seventh time under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, as the Redbirds (8-4, 5-3 MVFC) travel to Hammond, Louisiana, to take on No. 16 seed Southeastern Louisiana (9-3, 7-1 SLC) in the first round of the 2025 Division I FCS playoffs.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Southeastern Louisiana will meet for the second time in program history, with the Lions leading the series 1-0. The two teams met on September 27, 1980, at Hancock Stadium and  Southeastern Louisiana came away with a 28-21 victory over Illinois State as the Lions scored with just 21 seconds remaining in the game. Southeastern Louisiana rushed for 226 yards on the ground against ISU, with a 7-yard touchdown run capping off the victory.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (119-78). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and an appearance in the 2014 FCS Championship game. He has led the ISU to seven playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

Southeastern Louisiana: Frank Scelfo (Louisiana-Monroe, 1981) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana (53-39). A two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Scelfo led the 2022 Lions to their first Southland Conference championship since 2014 and their third trip to the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs in a span of four seasons.

THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM

• 10 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025)
• 6-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
• 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• 1-time FCS Championship game qualifier (2014)
• The team is 8-6 in the FCS playoffs under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 11-1 against FCS opponents on the road the past two seasons

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Southeastern Louisiana University is located in Hammond, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 15,570 students. The Lions are members of the Southland Conference (SLC) and play their home games at Strawberry Stadium (7,408).
• Southeastern will be making its sixth NCAA FCS playoff appearance in program history and fourth under eight-year head coach Frank Scelfo, having previously advanced to the postseason in 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021 and 2022.    
• SLU was 9-1 in FCS play and won eight of those games by double digits, outscoring FCS competition by an average of just under 26 points per game (39.0 – 13.3) with the starters pulled from the game before the fourth quarter in seven of those wins.
• The Lions finished second in the Southland Conference standings for the second straight year, improving to 13-2 in league play over that stretch with the two losses coming by a combined five points.
• Twin Cities product Carson Camp (1,674 yards, 14 TD, 4 INT) and Kyle Lowe (770 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT) have split time under center for the Lions, with Jaylon Domingeaux (46 catches, 779 yards, 11 TD) being the top target in the passing game. On the ground, Deantre Jackson (83 carries, 556 yards, 7 TD) leads a group that features four backs with 70 or more rush attempts.
• Defensively, linebacker KK Reno leads the way with 119 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 10.0 TFLs while defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor controls the line of scrimmage with a team-high 8.0 sacks and 12.0 TFLs.

BIRDS IN THE POSTSEASON
The Redbirds will be making their tenth appearance in the FCS playoffs (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025) and seventh under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. ISU is 11-9 all-time in playoff games and will be making a second-straight appearance in the playoffs for the first time since three-straight berths from 2014-16. Last season, the Redbirds picked up a first-round playoff win at Southeast Missouri State, before falling in the second round on the road to No. 5 seed UC Davis. Overall, the Redbirds are 8-6 in the playoffs under Spack and are 6-4 in road contests, with first-round road wins in 2019 and 2024. 

ROAD WARRIORS 
Over the past two seasons, Illinois State has been very comfortable going on the road picking up key victories away from home. In the past two years, ISU is 11-3 on the road with two of those losses coming to FBS foes in Iowa (2024) and Oklahoma (2025). Last season, the Redbirds won six-straight FCS road games before suffering a second-round playoff loss to UC Davis and this year, the Redbirds are 5-0 on the road against FCS foes after a 35-21 road win at South Dakota State. In fact, only Oregon (10-0), Montana State (9-1) and North Dakota State (9-1) have a better record than the Redbirds (8-2) over their last 10 FBS/FCS road games overall.

NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER
The month of November has been very good to the Redbirds over the past two seasons, and the team's performance in the final month of the regular season has made it a playoff contender nationally. Last year, the Redbirds were 5-0 in the month of November, including a 35-27 road playoff win at Southeast Missouri State, and so far this year the Redbirds are 3-1 in November. 

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Following another stellar season at middle linebacker, Tye Niekamp was named as one of 30 finalists for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football by Stats Perform. Niekamp is ISU's eighth finalist for the award, including 2022 Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburgh. Niekamp ranked third in the MVFC in tackles with 126 (63 solo) and second in the league in tackles-for-loss with 12.0. He also added one sack and was credited with six pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four quarterback hurries and a safety on the year. A three-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2025, Niekamp had seven double-digit tackling efforts, including back-to-back 16 tackle efforts against South Dakota State and Southern Illinois.  

TOMMY TIME
As the season winds out, Illinois State quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse seems to be playing some of the best football of his career. Against Indiana State, he recorded his second 300+ yard passing performance of the season with 314 against the Trees and he threw for four touchdown passes while running for another. It marked Rittenhouse's third game of the season with four or more passing touchdowns and his fifth with three or more on the year. He leads the MVFC with 28 touchdown passes on the year (2nd on the single-season list at ISU) and he currently ranks No. 4 in the FCS in that category. Rittenhouse also ranks No. 7 in the FCS in points responsible (206) and points responsible for per game (17.2). On the year, he has run for six touchdowns on the ground, including one in each of the last five games for the Redbirds.

DAN THE MAN
A big three-touchdown day against South Dakota State propelled senior wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz to the top of the Illinois State record books. With his three touchdown receptions, Sobkowicz now has 33 career receiving touchdowns which puts him in the top spot on the career list, passing Redbird great Tyrone Walker (32). In addition, Sobkowicz sits in second place on the career receiving yards list (3,104) and continues to chase Walker for first place (3,565). He also ranks second in career receptions (228) behind Walker (250), with the playoffs yet to play for the senior wideout.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Senior running back Wenkers Wright hit a big milestone in the win at South Dakota, as he passed 2,500 career rushing yards against the Coyotes. Wright now has 2,541 yards in his stellar career making him just the eighth player in school history to rush for 2,500 yards or more. He currently ranks seventh on the all-time rushing yards list, but needs just four yards to pass Pierre Rembert for sixth place (2,544) on the list. He is also just one rushing touchdown away from tying Tre Roberson (22) for eighth on the career rushing TDs list and three from tying Bruce Cullen and Ron Bell (24) for sixth place. 

THOSE NIEKAMP BOYS ARE TROUBLE
One quick look at the defensive stat sheet from Illinois State's big 35-21 road win at South Dakota and a familiar name is featured heavily: Niekamp. Not only was dad Travis Niekamp calling the plays, but his two sons Tye and Dexter were all over the field making plays against the Jackrabbits. Tye led the way with a career-best 16 tackles and added a forced fumble to earn his third MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Dexter also recorded a career high in tackles with five, but also recorded a career-best two sacks and hauled in his first career interception deep in coverage. They were a big part of the defensive effort that held the Jacks to just 66 yards on the ground and the group that added five sacks and 10 TFLs in the victory.

28 IS GREAT
In wins over Indiana State and South Dakota, Illinois State scored 28 points in a quarter in each contest. The Redbirds scored 28 points in the second quarter on way to a big win at Indiana State and followed that up with a 28-point first quarter outburst in a 35-21 win over South Dakota State. ISU is one of just three teams in the country (FBS & FCS) to achieve that feat this season, joining Florida State and Washington.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The Redbird offense seems to be firing on all cylinders at the moment and the group is coming off its best offensive output in early a decade after defeating Indiana State, 52-20. The 52 points for the Redbirds were their most since scoring 67 in the 2015 home opener against Morgan State and their most in a conference game since scoring 55 against Indiana State in 2013. ISU racked up a season-high 555 yards of total offense, marking its third game of the year with 500 yards or more, and scored 40 or more points for the fourth time this year. 

BAUER COMES UP BIG 
Linebacker Patrick Bauer had quite the day against South Dakota State, and it started early on SDSU's first offensive series of the day. On second down, Bauer recorded a tackle for loss to put the Jacks behind the sticks at their own 14 yard line. Then on third down, Bauer jumped the route on a pass to the flat, intercepted it and returned it five yards for the pick six. Then, on the Jacks' final possession of the game, Bauer recorded a 10-yard TFL to ice the game and allow the Redbirds to take a knee for the victory. On the year, Bauer ranks second on the team with 3.0 sacks and 7.5 TFLs to go along with 44 total tackles and two INTs.

DAWSON DOES IT AGAIN
A week after he rushed for a season-high 101 yards and scored a touchdown in the Redbirds' win over UNI, transfer running back Victor Dawson topped that performance with 116 yards rushing on a career-high 21 carries and scored a touchdown in a dominant 52-20 win for the Redbirds over Indiana State. Dawson averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored his third touchdown of the year on a 6-yard run early in the second quarter that gave the Redbirds a 14-7 lead at the time. Thanks to his performance against the Sycamores, Dawson was named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week. At the end of the regular season, Dawson led the Redbirds in rush attempts (152), rushing yards (739) and yards per game (61.6) and is third on the team with three rushing touchdowns.